1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which recording is performed by ejecting ink from recording means to a recording medium.
2. Related Background Art
For the ink jet recording apparatus, in the case that the apparatus is not used for a long period or in the case that a specific ejection port among many ejection ports rarely ejects the ink compared with other ejection ports even if the apparatus is used, due to vaporization of moisture in the ejection port or an ink chamber communicated with the ejection port, viscosity of the ink is increased or the ink is fixed to the ejection port and, as a result, sometimes ejection failure occurs. When an ink droplet, a water droplet, dust, or the like adheres to an ejection port surface of a recording head on which the ejection ports are provided, the ejected ink droplet is pulled by the adhesion material. As a result, sometimes an ejecting direction is deflected. In order to eliminate these problems, an ejecting recovery device (cleaning mechanism portion) including the following recovery processing means for maintaining and recovering ink ejecting performance of the recording head is provided in the ink jet recording apparatus.
For example, a pre-ejecting action which ejects the ink to a predetermined ink receiving portion prior to recording action and removes the ink having the increased viscosity, a sucking recovery action which discharges a foreign material in the ink by sucking the ink from the ejection port or a common ink chamber, an ink suction action for removing a bubble or the like mixed in exchanging ink tanks, an idling suction action for sucking and removing the residual waste ink in a cap, and a capping action which covers the ejection port surface with the cap in order to suppress the vaporization of the ink moisture from the ejection port are carried out as recovery processing action for preventing the ejection failure. A capping mechanism provided in the ejecting recovery device plays an important role in carrying out these actions. For example, the role of a tray for the pre-ejection, in which the ink ejected in the pre-ejecting action is temporarily stored, or the role for holding airtightness, which covers the ejection port surface to seal the ejection port in order to stably carry out the ink suction or the prevention of the vaporization of the ink moisture, can be cited.
For these reasons, a structure in which the capping mechanism is stably in contact with and separated from the ejection port surface has been proposed. For example, the following structure is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-108684.
That is to say, a capping portion is supported by cap supporting means while the capping portion is freely moved forward and backward relative to the ejection port surface of recording means. The capping portion is freely vertically moved relative to the ejection port surface of the recording means by placing lifting means immediately under the cap supporting means. While the capping portion is energized (or biased) toward a side of the ejection port surface of the recording means by energizing means of a pressurizing spring, the capping portion is formed so as to be maintained substantially parallel to the ejection port surface by positional attitude maintaining means and retreatably rested. The capping mechanism in which the capping portion properly and equally abuts on the ejection port surface of the recording means and is pressed with substantially constant pressing force by the above-described structure is proposed.
According to the capping mechanism having the above-described structure, when the capping portion abuts on the ejection port surface of the recording means, the cap supporting portion oscillatably supports the capping portion. Therefore, the airtightness (sealing properties) of the ejection port covered with the capping portion can be increased, and maintenance and management of the ejection port of the recording means, carried out by the sucking recovery action, can be surely and efficiently performed.
However, the following technical problems to be solved still remain in the structure of the capping mechanism described above.
That is to say, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-108684, a control cam playing the role of the lifting means for freely lifting the capping portion forward and backward is placed immediately under the cap supporting portion. Therefore, though the close contact to and separation from the ejection port surface can be easily carried out, a minimum space for a size of the control cam and a stroke necessary for vertical movement of the cap supporting portion is required for the capping mechanism. As a result, a height of the ejecting recovery device itself is increased and miniaturization of the recording apparatus cannot be realized.
Accordingly, as to a structure in which the size of the device is decreased as much as possible, there is thought of a structure in which the capping portion is lifted in such a manner that a lifting lever or the like is added and the control cam is rotated by applying the principle of leverage. However, in such a structure, though the size of the device can be decreased, the number of parts is increased and cost of a main body of the recording apparatus is increased. Recently, the miniaturization and low-cost of the ink jet recording apparatus are demanded and an inner structure of the general-use recording apparatus satisfying compactness and low cost is required.